An in-vivo device such as an ingestible sensing device may be used for sensing in-vivo conditions in cavities or body lumens such as for example the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Parameters that may be sensed or detected include for example temperature, pH, pressure, electroconnectivity, etc. In-vivo imaging devices may be used for imaging of body lumens such as the GI tract. For example, an ingestible capsule including a sensor, such as an image sensor, may be ingested and may move through the small intestine by peristalsis while imaging or otherwise sensing the small intestine. However, passive movement of objects such as for example imaging sensors, such as by way of peristalsis through larger body lumens, such as the large intestine, may be slow and unpredictable and may not facilitate proper imaging of such larger body lumens.
The large intestine or colon, whose main function is to remove much of the water from the stool and to store the stool, begins with the cecum, a small saclike evagination, then continues with the ascending colon, from the appendix in right groin up to a flexure at the liver, transverse colon, liver to spleen, descending colon, spleen to left groin, then sigmoid (S-shaped) colon back to midline and anus. The colon has three longitudinal muscle bands whose actions assist movement through the colon.